Aside from the obvious reasons like more and more rules that are arbitrarily and not equally enforced, part of why the on field product is not as good as many of us remember (IMO) is lack of contrasting styles.

Back in the day offenses featured the run & shoot, west coast offense, ground & pound etc.

Defenses also had more variety.

Today it seems every team is just a slightly different and watered down version of some other current team. All copying each other in fear of being different & not succeeding.

The rules have played a big role in getting us here.

It was fun watching other games because a lot of teams just did things differently. Styles mattered.

Not so much today.

The game has been boiled down to who has the better QB & coaches. Styles matter not.

Aside from the obvious reasons like more and more rules that are arbitrarily and not equally enforced, part of why the on field product is not as good as many of us remember (IMO) is lack of contrasting styles.

Back in the day offenses featured the run & shoot, west coast offense, ground & pound etc.

Defenses also had more variety.

Today it seems every team is just a slightly different and watered down version of some other current team. All copying each other in fear of being different & not succeeding.

The rules have played a big role in getting us here.

It was fun watching other games because a lot of teams just did things differently. Styles mattered.

Not so much today.

The game has been boiled down to who has the better QB & coaches. Styles matter not.

I would also add the CBA rules for limiting practice time for preseason camps and OTAs. Football teams are constantly losing and adding players. Limiting the amount of time the new players can practice with their teams hurts the overall product.

_________________"If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?" - Will Rogers

It seems like the focus of these leagues is to extract money from people, rather than focusing on putting a quality product on the field.

Isn't that the focus pretty much everywhere there are commodities and services to consume?

It's always a balance. The producer is trying to charge as much as possible and the customer wants to pay as little as possible. They're forced to meet somewhere in the middle. Honestly, I don't care if a company is making alot of money on something, since I'm in no way forced to buy it.

My main point was that sports leagues just assume that people will fork over $100+ for a ticket, $8 for a beer, $30 for a tshirt, or sit through endless commercials at home. I think we're starting to see a tipping point where the costs are starting to outweigh the benefit (entertainment value) for the average fan. Also, i think the NFL is going so far to reach casual fans & new fans that they're starting to alienate their base (London game, moves to LA, pink in October, etc).

It seems like the focus of these leagues is to extract money from people, rather than focusing on putting a quality product on the field.

Isn't that the focus pretty much everywhere there are commodities and services to consume?

It's always a balance. The producer is trying to charge as much as possible and the customer wants to pay as little as possible. They're forced to meet somewhere in the middle. Honestly, I don't care if a company is making alot of money on something, since I'm in no way forced to buy it.

My main point was that sports leagues just assume that people will fork over $100+ for a ticket, $8 for a beer, $30 for a tshirt, or sit through endless commercials at home. I think we're starting to see a tipping point where the costs are starting to outweigh the benefit (entertainment value) for the average fan. Also, i think the NFL is going so far to reach casual fans & new fans that they're starting to alienate their base (London game, moves to LA, pink in October, etc).

Corporate by laws insure CEO's make decisions that increase the bottom line, foregoing things like quality and responsibility. The balance doesn't find itself. It's usually regulated. Otherwise, free markets are an uncaged/ unleashed beast, and the shitty product the NFL is producing by watering it down with advertisements and pink october and "passing league" offenses/ constricting defenses reflects that. Every decision made that is spun into customer service is usually for the benefit of the producer, not the consumer. Football is no different. Further, you'd be surprised how that focus and approach affects your everyday life, not just entertainment.

_________________I wish Fraudlin would get testicular cancer and die after he watches me anally penetrate his wife. - Jeemie

Corporate by laws insure CEO's make decisions that increase the bottom line, foregoing things like quality and responsibility.

And companies that do this typically go out of business. As an example: About 15 years ago, Circuit City decided to eliminate their commissioned pay structure and move to cheap, hourly labor. It saved them $130m in 2003....and it was considered a major factor in their bankruptcy 5 years later.

Honestly, I don't understand this mindset - If (for example) GM wants to start charging outrageous prices for shitty cars, what's to stop Ford, Toyota, Kia, or whomever from undercutting them?It's entirely possibly to provide quality AND make money. Hell, we're probably 1000 miles apart and talking on computers on a website hosted on a server in God-knows-where. And someone is making money providing this service.

Quote:

The balance doesn't find itself. It's usually regulated.

Wal Mart and Amazon completely revolutionized supply chains and distribution networks.Apple & Google changed how we use our phones and access information online.Cisco created a LAN back in 1984 when most people had never even heard of the internet.

They made billions doing this, and there was no regulation involved.

I could go on for days here - There are thousands of examples of companies creating new things or providing better value for customers with no regulation at all. I'm not necessarily against basic government oversight; but do you honestly believe that (as an example) restaurants would start regularly serving spoiled food if there were no health inspectors? That planes would start crashing left and right with no FAA?

Honestly, Federal oversight tends to lag behind the market pretty badly - The Feds blocked a merger between Blockbuster and Hollywood video in the mid-2000s, saying it would create a monopoly in video rentals. Both companies were out of business within a decade because of the emergence of online streaming. Did regulation really help anyone there?

I'm not saying that shitty businesses don't exist, and I'm not saying that asshole corporate fat cats don't exist. What I'm saying is that no corporation can make money unless they provide a good/service that customers are willing to buy. In order for them to be greedy in the first place, they have to serve people. And nothing will kick these people in the ass more than if/when customers start walking away.

Corporate by laws insure CEO's make decisions that increase the bottom line, foregoing things like quality and responsibility. The balance doesn't find itself. It's usually regulated. Otherwise, free markets are an uncaged/ unleashed beast, and the shitty product the NFL is producing by watering it down with advertisements and pink october and "passing league" offenses/ constricting defenses reflects that. Every decision made that is spun into customer service is usually for the benefit of the producer, not the consumer. Football is no different. Further, you'd be surprised how that focus and approach affects your everyday life, not just entertainment.

Your example is flawed.

Maybe you might care to take a stab at why?

_________________“Your ability to think concisely, your ability to make good judgments is much easier on Thursday night than during the heat of the game."

"That Super Bowl was not won yesterday. It was won in a small room in Philadelphia, two weeks ago."